


The Juneberry Tree

by thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey



Series: The Princess and the Blade [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Blood, Comas - Freeform, Fighting, Gen, Oriande, Pain, Stabbing, Violence, backstabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 14:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17061377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey/pseuds/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey
Summary: With great power comes great responsibility. Allura is captured, this time with Lotor, and is faced with a difficult choice that could destroy the universe.Or save it.Work title is a play on the Grimm Brother's "Juniper Tree" if that gives you an idea of how horrible this is gonna be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the long wait!

Allura peered out the transport at the speeding ground below. “Where are we going?”

“A safe place,” Keith told her shortly, “With all of the assassins and kidnappers around, we need to get you and Lotor away from the palace. There will be a lot of elite Altean warriors, and, of course, plenty of Blade members.”

“But- that one Blade member- she was a spy! That’s how I ended up captured!”

“Well, you can trust me, right? And I’m going to be there as well. Plus, Krolia will be there. You’ll be as safe as possible.”

“What about Oriande?” Lotor piped up, “Aren’t we going to investigate?”

“That’s the _least_ of our troubles,” Allura scolded him, “We can’t chase after daydreams right now!”

“It could have everything to do with this plot, though,” he insisted, “Perhaps if we go there-”

Keith slammed on the brakes, stopping the transport abruptly before it hit a glowing energy barrier. He eyed it suspiciously.

“That shouldn’t be there. I’m going to turn it off. If anything goes wrong, you fire up the transport and get out of here, got it?”

Lotor nodded, and Allura watched Keith carefully clamber out of the transport, heading towards the shutoff switch for the energy barrier. All was going well until a veritable army stepped out of the fields. The tall crops had hidden them from sight, and it was like something had conjured them as they sprang out of the plants like daisies. Keith startled backwards, his knife turning to a sword.

“GO, GO, GO,” Lotor shouted, pushing on the lever of the transport.

“NO,” Allura screamed, “YOU’LL HIT THE BARRIER!”

Lotor slammed on the brakes, reaching for a laser gun in the seat. He took a shot at the clamps on the energy barriers, destroying one of them. He shot another, but then the gun powered down, and Lotor stared at it in disbelief.

“It’s out of charge? Who carries a chargeable gun anymore?!”

“This transport is ancient,” Allura shouted back at him, seizing the gun from him, “It probably just came with the vehicle!” She launched the gun, neatly destroying four more clamps. Now only one clamp kept the field from dissolving. Keith was fighting fiercely, but he didn’t look like he could hold out forever. He glanced at the transport, then at the shield. His sword shrank back to a knife, and he threw it at the remaining clamps.

With a hiss, the shield powered down. But there were too many people in the way; even if Allura was willing to mow them down, the transport wouldn’t make it. And besides, the attackers had managed to subdue Keith, forcing him to his knees. One person, clearly the leader, approached him.

“You’re a brave fighter,” she- or at least Allura _thought_ that she was female- purred, “But you cannot resist us. Your mission is futile. Surrender and join our cause, and you will live.” She glanced around at the hundreds dead or dying around her. “I could use such a destructive ally.”

Keith spat at her in response, and her face hardened.

“So be it.”

She drew a gleaming dagger and drove it right into his chest. His eyes widened, even as Allura screamed.

“Such a shame,” the woman hissed, “You would’ve made such an _excellent_ addition to my army.”

She bent down and whispered something in his ear. She released the knife handle, and he fell to the ground as the soldiers stopped holding him. Allura clambered out of the transport, despite Lotor’s attempts to stop her and sprinted to Keith’s side she rolled him onto his back, her hands fluttering uselessly around the knife.

“Why,” she whispered, “why, why, why?!”

His blood-stained fingers brushed her cheek, leaving a smear of his blood on her dark skin. “Princess,” he choked. His fingers dropped back down to his own chest, where blood oozed out past the knife. “Blade. G-go.”

“I can’t-”

“GO!”

Allura scrambled back to the transport, punching anyone who tried to seize her on her way. She dashed her tears away as Lotor jammed on the speed lever, _hard_ , and they left Keith’s limp form behind in the dust. They never made it to their destination.

Xxx

“What do you mean, _gone_?!” Alfor paced up and down in front of Kolivan. “They never made it?!”

“It appears not,” Kolivan said quietly, “We’re working on finding them as we speak. My young Blade was found by a farmer, grievously injured. The physicians are working on him as we speak, but… as I said, the wound inflicted was bad, and they’re unsure if he’ll live. It’s a miracle that he’s stayed alive for this long, if we’re being honest.”

“But what about my _daughter_?! And Lotor?!”

“We’ve followed their transport’s tracks, and we found the transport. They must have had a veritable _army_ against them, based on the number of dead at both the site of Keith’s fall and the site of the transport.” 

“We need to talk to Keith,” Alfor said firmly, “Occasionally, in the heat of battle, an enemy will slip up and reveal something of their plans, especially if they believe their foe to be defeated.”

He stormed towards the hallways, despite Kolivan’s warnings that Keith was unlikely to be able to tell them anything right now and they needed to analyze the dead bodies of the fallen. The doctors all scrambled around in a haste when he burst in.

“Sir!”

“I need to talk to him,” Alfor growled. His heart softened a little when he saw Keith, who was a mess of I.V. lines and tubes, bandages covering his whole chest and an oxygen mask strapped to his face, pumping medicine and air to him. The half-breed was a deadly pale, and Alfor felt guilty about wanting to interrogate him, but he shook that feeling away. Allura was in danger.

“Sir, he’s on sedative, and if he wakes up, he’ll be in an intense amount of pain. I don’t think-”

“This is a matter of intergalactic peace,” Alfor countered, “Wake him up.”

The doctor frowned. “Fine. Five minutes.”

“What?”

“After I take him off of the sedatives, he’ll have five minutes of awareness before the pain-numbing effects start to wear off. After that, I’m putting him back on the sedatives before he feels it.”

“Fine.”

The doctor gently unbuckled the mask, and Alfor waited, waited, waited until Keith’s purple eyes fluttered open.

“’llura,” he slurred.

“Where is she?” Alfor demanded, “What happened?”

“Got attacked- I- she got away- she and Lotor- I saw them-” He seemed to regain some memory of what had happened, and his hand drifted towards his chest. “I- I got stabbed- I- how-”

It took far longer to explain the situation than Alfor would’ve liked, but he told Keith what had happened. “So, we need to know,” he finished, “Did they betray anything of their intentions?”

“I-” Keith blinked. “The leader- she whispered something in my ear. She told me- she said, ‘the legend is true, and the gift is ready.’”

Alfor leaned back on his heels. “What does _that_ mean?”

The doctor came forward, and Keith desperately said, “It has something to do with Oriande!”

Time seemed to freeze for Alfor, and he stared at the injured Blade. He waved the doctor off. “How do you know of Oriande,” he whispered. There were only a select few who believed in Oriande, and even fewer who knew where it was. Those few were the people closest to him.

“Lotor said- he said something about Oriande. And I think that- well, maybe this has something to do with it.” Keith’s face tightened, and his hand clenched on his chest. “Ugh-”

“You _have_ to let me put the mask back on!”

“One more minute,” Alfor told the doctor. He turned back to Keith. “If what you’re saying is true… then they’re trying to turn my daughter into a superweapon. Are you _absolutely sure_ that they said what you think?”

Keith nodded. “I’d stake my life on it. The legend is true and the gift is ready.” His face tightened, and he made a little animal noise of pain as the numbing sedative started to wear off. The doctor slammed the mask back over his face, glaring at Alfor.

“Leave please.”

“I need a few more minutes!”

“And he needs to rest, not be interrogated! He was stabbed in the chest, by the ancients! Shoo!”

“I am the king of Al-”

“This is Dybazal, this is my hospital, and this is my patient! Get out!”

Alfor left, giving Keith one last look. He _would_ find his daughter. No matter _what_ it took.

Xxx

Allura’s hands fluttered over Lotor’s shoulder. “How’s it feeling?”

“Like it got stabbed by a knife,” Lotor grated out, “I’m going to _kill_ -”

“No killing,” Allura said firmly, “If you try, _you’ll_ be the one killed.” She glanced around the sparse cell. “Hey! Let us out!”

As if by magic, the door slid open, the leader of their kidnappers striding in. She pulled off her mask, and Allura gasped.

“Mother?”

“Hello, Allura. Lotor.”

“Mom- what-”

“I’m sorry, Allura. This was the only way.”

“Wh- what? Only way for what?”

“This was the only way that I could talk to you without your father hovering over us.”

Allura’s eyes teared up. “All this for a conversation?! Mother, you _killed_ Keith!”

Queen Melenor sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. I know you were attached to him. But this is for the greater good. I _need_ to talk to you. It’s of the utmost importance.

“Mother-”

“No, listen, Allura, Altea is in danger. Horrible danger. And it’s because of your father.”

“What? Father would never-”

“I know,” Melenor cut in, “He wouldn’t ever do any such thing on purpose. But that’s what happens. He wants to make the universe a safer, better place, and he fails in the most spectacular way possible.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s been foretold. On cave walls, written everywhere. Beware the gift of the sky. The heavens will open, and hell along with it. Your father ignored it, but Honerva and I- we paid attention. We grew in numbers as we convinced others. Now- Now I know that the only way is to give you the same powers that the ancients gave your father.”

“Mother—”

“We’re going to Oriande. I cannot enter the white hole, but perhaps… I believe that you can.”

“Mother, you’re not making any sense!”

The ship shook, and Melenor got up, eyes shining. “We’re here.”

“Allura,” Lotor whispered, “your marks! They- they’re glowing.”

Allura looked at him and gasped. “Lotor- Lotor, you have Altean marks!”

Lotor reached up and touched his cheeks. “Really?”

Melenor gaped. “You’re both chosen ones! Allura, Lotor, come with me! Quickly! The guardian will only allow the two of you to pass.”

They followed her in confusion to the pod bay, where Melenor gave Allura a quick runthrough of how to pilot a pod and handed her a small stone.

“This will protect you. Remember, Allura, I love you so, _so_ much. And I am proud of you, no matter what.”

“Mother, wait- I don’t understand—”

Melenor closed the door and stepped back, giving Allura a thumbs up, and the airlock doors opened, ejecting the pod into space. Allura sat at the controls, piloting them towards the white hole.

“Here goes nothing,” she murmured, and drove right into the center of the white hole.

Energy swirled around them, and a massive white lion appeared, roaring. Allura’s hands shook on the controls, but she grit her teeth and kept flying. She passed through the lion and emerged to a pink sky. Lotor forced himself up, clasping one hand to his injured shoulder. “There. That pyramid. It _has_ to be the place.”

Allura piloted the pod and landed it outside the door, helping Lotor out of the pod. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” he winced, “Let’s get this over with.”

Allura gaped at the massive statues that lined the hallway. “Amazing! These are all ancient Altean alchemists!”

Lotor nodded. “I recognize them. But why would they be—”

The statues rose up and pointed their spears at Lotor and Allura. One hit Lotor with the butt of the spear and the Galran prince went flying, crashing into the opposite wall. Allura ran towards him, dodging the spears.

She crouched beside Lotor, who groaned softly. Blood was steadily dripping from his shoulder onto the floor. Allura glared at the guardians.

“Stop it! He’s injured!”

They approached, still stony silent, and Allura raised one hand, holding the stone that Melenor had given her.

“As the princess of Altea, I order you to stop!”

The statues halted, turned, and went back to their pedestals. Allura let out a deep sigh of relief and hauled Lotor up, slinging his uninjured arm over her shoulder.

“We’re going to be okay,” she told him, struggling forward, “It’s all going to be fine.”

She dragged him down the hallway to a room with teladuv controls sticking out of the ground. She set Lotor down gently and walked over to them, placing her hands on them instinctively. They glowed, and suddenly, she wasn’t in the dark temple anymore.

A white lion growled, pacing towards her. Lotor was nowhere to be seen. She whirled around, punching the lion on the snout as it leapt at her. “What did you do with Lotor?!”

The lion didn’t answer, only paced circles around her. She took a deep breath. “You are the guardian of this sacred place. I have no quarrel with you. I only want to help my people and my friends. We don’t have to fight. We can live in harmony; I know you must have in the past for so many great alchemists to have come from Oriande.”

The lion leapt at her, and she braced herself, ready for the claws to tear through her.

Xxx

Lotor whirled around in the pink landscape. “Allura?” his voice echoed oddly in the silence around him. “Allura!”

A white lion appeared growling and stalking him. He marched towards it angrily. “What have you done with my friend?!”

It leapt at him, and he drew his sword, struggling to wield it in his left hand. “Bring me back to my friend, beast! I will force you to bring her back!”

He and the lion charged each other with matching roars.

Xxx

Fire.

Destruction.

Juneberries shriveling and dying.

Alteans running, screaming as warships descended from the sky.

Dark creatures emerging from a tear in the very fabric of reality.

A massive metal angel, lasers shooting from its hands.

Lions soaring through the sky.

A lab, her father speaking excitedly.

A gift, curse, blessing, poison, dropping through the sky into Dybazal.

Only she could stop it.

Only she could save them.

Xxx

Allura emerged from the temple, glowing with power. Lotor was waiting outside, leaning against he wall, and she knew that he had failed the test of the white lion. She dropped beside him; he was breathing shallowly, his shoulder wound even worse than before. The light spread from her to him, and the wound sealed up as if it had never been there.

Lotor’s eyes fluttered open. “Allura?” he murmured.

“We have a lot to do,” she whispered.

“You- my shoulder…”

Allura’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I just wish…” she burst out in a sob. “I just wish I’d known in time to save Keith!”

Lotor opened his arms, and she flung herself into him, sobbing into his shoulder. “It’s okay,” he whispered, “You’re going to be okay.”

“I- He was my friend- and now- and I was so _helpless_ , and I couldn’t- I couldn’t save him!”

“I know,” Lotor comforted, stroking her head gently, “I know. He was my friend too.”

“And- I’ve seen what’s coming and Lotor, it’s _horrible_! It’s horrible, and I’m the only one who can stop it! And I’m so scared- I couldn’t even stop Keith from dying- how am I going to save my people?!”

“One step at a time,” Lotor told her firmly, “You passed the trials- you can do anything. You can save us.”

Xxx

Alfor strode towards the med bay, wanting to see the young Blade one more time before he left to find his daughter. When he arrived, he saw a Blade woman, crying quietly.

“Are you alright?” he inquired.

She looked at him and offered a watery smile. “Oh. Your Highness. I apologize.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It- It’s my son.”

Wait- this was the Blade’s mother, wasn’t she? She’d been assigned to Allura. “What?!”

“He’s gone into a coma,” she whispered, choking back a sob, “They’re not sure that he’ll ever wake up. I’m scared- so scared. He- he’s my _son_!”

Anger burned through Alfor. His daughter’s friend. This woman’s son. Just a child. Dying because of some coup that had nothing to do with him personally.

“I will find the one who did this,” he promised the woman, “And I _will_ bring them to justice.”

Xxx

Melenor hugged Allura tightly. “I am so, _so_ proud of you,” she whispered, “You have received the power of the ancients!”

“Can we go back home, now? Please?”

Melenor hesitated. “Allura… I don’t think that you can achieve your destiny there.”

“Mother, I’m sure that together we can convince Father to do the right thing! Once he knows what I’ve seen—”

“I’ve spoken to your father about this before. He has _never_ accepted my words. He, too, has seen the visions. He, too, knows what is to come. But he will still head down the wrong path. I’m sorry, Allura.”

The ship was rocked suddenly, and Melenor ran for the bridge, Allura and Lotor not far behind.

“Ma’am, it’s the Alteans! Alfor is attacking!”

“Open up a communication link.”

Alfor’s face appeared on the screen. “Melenor? What- oh, no.”

“Yes, Alfor.”

“Melenor, why?!”

“You wouldn’t listen to what I said, Alfor. I had to find another way.”

“So you kidnapped our daughter?! Melenor, you killed an innocent boy!”

Lines of grief creased along Melenor’s face. “I know,” she choked, a tear sliding down her face, “I know. But Alfor- I’m trying to save lives! Alfor, you _have_ to listen to me! Allura has been to Oriande! She has seen _visions_! The universe as we know it is going to change! Please, join us. Help us save the universe.”

Alfor’s face hardened. “Open fire.”

Melenor’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t! Not while I’m aboard!”

“You are a traitor,” Alfor responded coldly, “I see no problem.”

The Altean ships began to fire, raining destruction on Melenor’s ship. Allura stepped forward. “Father, wait!”

“Allura?” the shooting stopped. “Allura, you’re alright!”

“Yes, and Lotor is here as well. Please, Father. I’ve seen visions- I need you. I need your help. I have powers now that I cannot _begin_ to comprehend, and I need your guidance. Please, join us. We can make Altea safe.”

Alfor shook his head. “That woman has corrupted your mind. Come back with me.”

“Make a wormhole,” Melenor whispered, “Get us out of here!”

Allura hesitated, torn between the two. Her father? Her mother?

“It’s me or her!” Alfor cried.

“It’s him or the universe,” Melenor whispered softly.

Allura closed her eyes, tears leaking out of the corners of them. “I’m sorry, Father,” she whispered, and a wormhole opened up in front of Melenor’s ship.

“Allura, no!” Alfor roared.

“Get us out of here,” Melenor shouted.

The ship sailed through the wormhole, the com screen with Alfor fizzing out. Allura collapsed to her knees, tears flowing freely from her face.

A gentle hand rested on her head. “You’re doing the right thing,” Melenor murmured, “You’re a strong young woman, stronger than I deserve.”

And then, more softly, “I’m proud of you."


	2. Chapter 2

Alfor stormed down the halls of the hospital. A doctor scurried after him.

“Sir, I’m afraid that we cannot allow you in- his family is in there, and they’re saying goodbye! It’s private and you can’t just—”

Alfor shoved the doctor to the side and opened the door to the young Blade’s room. The Blade woman stood up, a human man with one arm around her.

“Leave,” the man said firmly, “He’s our son.”

“Leave us.”

“You may be the king of Altea, but you’re not _my_ king. This is my son and—”

“If you _ever_ want to see your son again, I suggest. You. Leave.”

The Blade woman looked up at him, hope in her eyes. “Can- can you save him?”

“I can try,” Alfor told her gently, “But I need to be alone.”

She led her husband out of the room with a whispered “thank you”.

Alfor knelt next to the Blade’s bed, putting one hand on his head. His hand started to glow. “Awake,” Alfor murmured, and pulled the life-support mask off.

The Blade’s eyes shot open, and he gasped in a breath, coughing. “What- where am I?”

“You are on Dybazal,” Alfor rumbled, “Do you know who I am?”

“You- you’re the king of Altea.” The half-breed’s face tightened, his hand flying to his chest, and he howled, bucking and letting out a scream.

Alfor watched impassively. He could heal up the half-breed’s chest. Oriande had given him the power. But Melenor was persuasive, and with Lotor and Allura with her- he had to have a way to assure the half-breed’s loyalty.

The doctor raced in, blinking in astonishment at the half-breed, who had been in a full coma only minutes before. He shook himself, running to find his sedatives, pumping them through the mask that he had to force onto the Blade’s face. The Blade stopped thrashing as they took hold, and Alfor knelt next to him.

“You know my daughter?”

“’llura,” the Blade slurred, “Where—”

“She was taken,” Alfor whispered, “She’s been kidnapped, and manipulated.”

“N-no!”

“Yes. And I need your help. Will you help me get her back?”

“S-save Allura?”

“Yes. Will you help me save Allura?”

The Blade nodded. “Y-yes,” he whispered as his eyes slid shut, “I- I will help.”

Xxx

Alfor strode out of the hospital room, leaving the doctors to wonder at the Blade’s miraculous recovery. Outside, the parents were waiting.

“Thank you,” the mother whispered, starry-eyed, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“I did what was right.”

The man wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist. “If there is _ever_ any way that we can repay you…”

Alfor inclined his head. “I’ll let you know. But I’m sure that won’t be necessary.”

As he strode away, a smile crept across his face. His treacherous wife and her rebellion didn’t stand a chance.


End file.
